Betacam & Betacam SP
BetaCam was first introduced in 1982 and initially geared for broadcast use, although there have been some less expensive models destined for industrial use. Pictures you will obtain using a BetaCam system will generally be markedly superior to those you would get using any of the preceding formats. Colours in particular come out looking much more vibrant and objects appear three-dimensional. The superiority of BetaCam comes partly from the technical aspects of the tape format, but also in large part because of the use of superior optics and other components. The difference between BetaCam and BetaCam SP, which was introduced in 1986, is in the tape formulation. BetaCam SP uses a metal tape technology and with further improvements over the original BetaCam soon became the industry standard format. Although BetaCam SP still uses ½" video tape, the cassettes are large with 90 minute cassettes measuring 5.5 by 10 inches (14 by 25 cm). Typically, BetaCamSP portable units (camcorders or dockable decks) handle only smaller cassettes with shorter lengths of tape (30 minutes and less). These smaller cassettes are 4 by 6 inches (10 by 16 cm) in size. BetaCam SP is still one of the standard formats used by professionals and the broadcast industry, partly because of the large number of units out in the professional community. However, with the introduction of smaller and improved digital formats, Betacam SP is quickly being replaced.

U-Matic
In March 1970, Sony, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Victor Co. of Japan, Ltd. (JVC), and five non-Japanese companies reached agreement on unified video standard and thus, in 1971 the U-Matic Low Band format was introduced. Also known as 3/4" video tape, the format soon found favour with the broadcast industry, especially for news gathering. Although very heavy to carry, this was truly the first complete portable format and no more time waiting for cellulose to be developed. During the years that followed several improvements where made to the format with the introduction of High Band and eventually High Band SP. U-Matic has been used by professionals around the world and can still be found in most studios. It is still used by some production companies today and produces good quality video and due to its robust nature, 3/4" tapes and decks are still commonly available in duplicating houses. However, by the early 1980's, technology was advancing and the format was gradually replaced by Betacam.

DV-CAM
DV-Cam is Sony's variation of a theme, sitting somewhere between DV and DVC-PRO. DV-Cam still utilises ¼" tape and compression ratio of 5:1 at 25 Mb per second with signal sampling rate of 4:1:1. The tape speed and track width was increased from DV format and metal evaporated tape is used rather than metal particle tape.
DV-Cam produces excellent quality pictures and is frequently used within the media industry.

16mm
16 mm film was initially created in the 1920s as an inexpensive amateur alternative to the conventional 35 mm film format. Thanks to the compact size and lower cost, 16 mm was quickly adopted for use in professional news reporting, corporate and educational films, and other uses, while the home movie market switched to even less expensive 8 mm film.16 mm was extensively used for television production in countries where television economics made the use of 35 mm too expensive. Digital video tape has made significant inroads in television production use, even to the extent that in some countries, 16 mm (as well as 35 mm) is considered obsolete as a TV production format by broadcasters. Nevertheless, independently produced documentaries and shorts (intended mainly for TV use) may still be shot on film.

Super 16mm
The variant called Super 16 mm, Super 16, or 16 mm Type W uses single-sprocket film, and takes advantage of the extra room for an expanded picture area with a wider aspect ratio of 1.67. Super 16 cameras are usually 16 mm cameras which have had the film gate and ground glass in the viewfinder modified for the wider frame. Since Super 16 takes up the space originally reserved for the soundtrack, films shot in this format can be "blown up" by optical printing to 35 mm for projection. However, with the recent development of digital intermediate workflows, it is now possible to "digitally blow up" to 35 mm with virtually no quality loss (given a high quality digital scan).

35mm
35 mm film is the basic film format most commonly used for both still photography and motion pictures, and remains relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1889 by Thomas Edison. The photographic film is cut into strips 1 3/8 inches wide, with six perforations per inch along both edges. The format was initially called Edison size. The flattened perforations were introduced by Bell & Howell around 1900, which remain to this day for camera original film. Kodak-Standard perforations were introduced some ten years later for projection use.